Randall's Rant: NFL Week 17

Randall's Rant: NFL Week 17

Black Monday has come and gone and of course there were casualties in the coaching ranks with more likely to follow. John Fox (Bears), Jim Caldwell (Lions), Chuck Pagano (Colts) and most notably Jack Del Rio (Raiders) all received their pink slips shortly after the 2017 regular season closed on Sunday. The reason we identify Del Rio’s dismissal as most notable is because of his reported replacement.

Jon Gruden’s name surfaces each year after Black Monday but since being fired by the Buccaneers after the 2008 season, Gruden has sat cozily in the Monday Night Football booth amid all the rumours. Seems that is about to end as it being reported that for all intents and purposes, Gruden will take over head coaching duties with the same Oakland Raiders’ team that he began his head coaching career with.

As they say in Latin, ‘caveat emptor’ or translated, let the buyer beware.

Life is often about timing. Gruden was in the right place at the right time when he took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 and led them to a Super Bowl victory. However, Gruden inherited a strong team that Tony Dungy had built and had compiled a 31-18 mark in the three seasons prior to Gruden being handed the reigns. The Bucs were a defensive force back then led by defensive guru Monte Kiffin. One could argue that Gruden didn’t make the team better but that he actually set off the demise of the Bucs. Following the championship year, the Buccaneers compiled a disappointing 45-51 over the next six years under Gruden’s guidance and never won another playoff game. That included 2008 when Gruden’s team rebounded with a 9-3 start to the season before collapsing in December with four straight losses and another playoff exclusion.

Turns out that there are only two Super Bowl winning coaches that have a lower career winning percentage than Gruden’s .556 mark, those being Dick Vermeil (.524) and Weeb Ewbank (.502)

All the while, Tony Dungy went on to coach the Colts where he amassed an 85-27 record with his new club over a seven-year span, including a Super Bowl win. Dungy’s only losing season in his 13-year career occurred in his first year at Tampa where he was handed and turned around a team that hadn’t had a winning season in 14 years.

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